Dubai Sri Lanka players Dunith Wellalage and Harshitha Samarawickrama were on Monday named ICC Players of the Month for August 2024.
The rare double for Sri Lanka comes after Wellalage excelled in a home ODI series against India and Samarawickrama endured a purple patch on a tour of Ireland.
The only previous instance of players from the same country winning awards in the same month was when Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana were named Players of the Month in June this year.
Wellalage won the coveted monthly award ahead of South African player Keshav Maharaj and West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales, who were the other shortlists.
Wellalage won the award after a Player of the Series performance that helped his team win the series 2-0 over India. The 31-year-old left-hander posted scores of 67 not out, 39 and two, and also took seven wickets in the series, including a haul of five for 27 in the third match.
This is the fifth time a Sri Lankan player has won the men's award since its inception. Previous winners were Angelo Mathews (May 2022), Prabath Jayasuriya (July 2022), Wanindu Hasaranga (June 2023) and Kamindu Mendis (March 2024).
Wellalage said the award is a great encouragement. "This is great news for me and brings me immense satisfaction, as this recognition gives me more strength to continue doing the good work I do as a player and contribute to my team achieving excellence on the field," Wellalage said.
“Recognition like this, coming from the ICC, is great news for young players like us and will certainly encourage young players in the game.”
Samarawickrama, who beat the Irish duo of Orla Prendergast and Gaby Lewis, had a good run on a tour of Ireland in which she became the third Sri Lankan cricketer to score a century in ODIs.
The 26-year-old left-hander added 151 runs in the two T20Is played in Dublin at a strike rate of 169.66, which included 86 winners off 45 balls in the first match. He scored 172 in three ODIs in Belfast at a strike rate of 82.69, including a knock of 105 in the second match.
Samarawickrama is only the second Sri Lankan player to win the ICC Player of the Month award. Captain Chamari Athapaththu won the award twice this year in May and July.
Samarawickrama said that this recognition was very important as it came less than three weeks before the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup. "I am very happy with this recognition, which I consider a new milestone in my career. It certainly gives me a lot of confidence in the future . of the great competition, the Women's T20 World Cup".
The rare double for Sri Lanka comes after Wellalage excelled in a home ODI series against India and Samarawickrama endured a purple patch on a tour of Ireland.
The only previous instance of players from the same country winning awards in the same month was when Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana were named Players of the Month in June this year.
Wellalage won the coveted monthly award ahead of South African player Keshav Maharaj and West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales, who were the other shortlists.
Wellalage won the award after a Player of the Series performance that helped his team win the series 2-0 over India. The 31-year-old left-hander posted scores of 67 not out, 39 and two, and also took seven wickets in the series, including a haul of five for 27 in the third match.
This is the fifth time a Sri Lankan player has won the men's award since its inception. Previous winners were Angelo Mathews (May 2022), Prabath Jayasuriya (July 2022), Wanindu Hasaranga (June 2023) and Kamindu Mendis (March 2024).
Wellalage said the award is a great encouragement. "This is great news for me and brings me immense satisfaction, as this recognition gives me more strength to continue doing the good work I do as a player and contribute to my team achieving excellence on the field," Wellalage said.
“Recognition like this, coming from the ICC, is great news for young players like us and will certainly encourage young players in the game.”
Samarawickrama, who beat the Irish duo of Orla Prendergast and Gaby Lewis, had a good run on a tour of Ireland in which she became the third Sri Lankan cricketer to score a century in ODIs.
The 26-year-old left-hander added 151 runs in the two T20Is played in Dublin at a strike rate of 169.66, which included 86 winners off 45 balls in the first match. He scored 172 in three ODIs in Belfast at a strike rate of 82.69, including a knock of 105 in the second match.
Samarawickrama is only the second Sri Lankan player to win the ICC Player of the Month award. Captain Chamari Athapaththu won the award twice this year in May and July.
Samarawickrama said that this recognition was very important as it came less than three weeks before the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup. "I am very happy with this recognition, which I consider a new milestone in my career. It certainly gives me a lot of confidence in the future . of the great competition, the Women's T20 World Cup".
